I'm still seeing positives after two seasons of being butchered..There's a lot to like, I feel like I'm uttering the same mantra I do on the Raider forums...this is the basis of a good team...it will bear fruit

We were up to 13th at one point, now down to 16th, 2 points of the relegation zone.

Sounded like we sat back a bit, mainly due to Blackburn coming on to us more and when we had the chance to break there was a lack of composure. If we are going to sit back then perhaps we need to change that diamond earlier.

Like you say though, we do have the basis of a good team, I still feel we can build on this and see the positives.

What a damned shame.It sounds like they played well enough apart from mistakes made.
Did they rein themselves back in the 2nd half or did Blackburn overwhelm us?
The result's the same either way but one can be a bit discouraging.
Better luck against the top team next, if they're still top - haven't checked.

Well, still no sign of hoof ball creeping back in, so that's good news. In fact what I saw was a team playing a fast, high tempo short passing game with players prepared to work hard and take on their opponents. This is all good, but also brings along some problems that need addressing.

I loved the way our midfield/attack were prepared to dribble, to attach their defenders and try turn them. However it was often done without a plan, so the player ended up in an isolated position or gradually got pressed out to a harmless position.

Pace. Is it always a good thing? The speed that these short passes were being pinged around was pretty impressive at times. However it also gave the receiving player a problem to control a pass with that amount of pace. This meant first touches- whilst not bad- but were slightly less controlled than they might have been. At a decent level that's all a defending player needs to intercept or at least harass much more effectively. It also means the receiving player needs a moment longer to do whatever it is he is doing with the ball- and loses the benefit of the speed of the initial pass anyway. As such I think our players need to either take a little bit of pace off their passing to allow better ball control by the next player, or to develop better close ball control skills. I would be perfectly comfortable with the second being an ongoing process- which I am sure is being coached- and I can wait to see it develop and improve over the season. Remember- next season is when it counts.

A disappointing end result, but we knew we would see these, but there are still many many positives in there.

Final thought- Silvestri- is he the keeper we thought he was? Brilliant on his day, that's 2 games we have lost due directly to errors with him like todays. I think today does open up a question mark over his temperament/reliability.

We need to loan in an experienced old head to help steer the Redders ship through a full 90 mins.
I am glad Bellusci wasn't involved in the c**k up between Silvestri and Cooper because some on here would of been ready to lynch Bellusci if it had been him.

Adyran's wonderful curving shot looked destined for the top corner until the Rovers keeper pulls out a superb save.....Adryan clever pass to put Antenucci through only to see his shot rebound off the post back into play, both Adyran & Ante unlucky not score at crucial parts of the game.
A replica of the Cardiff c**k-up & then the diving swan act of cheating from Varney cost us the points
After watching the telly highlights i still insist Varney dived after seeing the incident again so a calamity jane incident & a cheating act cost us.Blackburn wouldn't have scored if they had played all night had it not been for Silvestri/Cooper & Varney, the ref should have done better with cheating Luke & yellow carded him who would be better suited in a swimming pool. No we didnt deserve to lose. We were shocking at Blackburn last season & got what we deserve then. We are so much better to watch on the eye compared to that bunch which somehow managed to get results last term. We do need a more physical presence in midfield & upfront as we rarely win the ball in the air in attacking positions. I think we need two players to complete the jigsaw. Noticed the Rovers team were so much bigger than ours. Feel really sorry for our young players as its the more experienced ones/keeper making the horrible errors. Came away from the ground scratching my head in a daze wondering how we lost that game. We have no luck whatsoever !
A very disillusioned 64 this morning.

1964white wrote:Adyran's wonderful curving shot looked destined for the top corner until the Rovers keeper pulls out a superb save.....Adryan clever pass to put Antenucci through only to see his shot rebound off the post back into play, both Adyran & Ante unlucky not score at crucial parts of the game.
A replica of the Cardiff c**k-up & then the diving swan act of cheating from Varney cost us the points
After watching the telly highlights i still insist Varney dived after seeing the incident again so a calamity jane incident & a cheating act cost us.Blackburn wouldn't have scored if they had played all night had it not been for Silvestri/Cooper & Varney, the ref should have done better with cheating Luke & yellow carded him who would be better suited in a swimming pool. No we didnt deserve to lose. We were shocking at Blackburn last season & got we deserve then. We are so much better to watch on the eye conpared to that bunch which somehow managed to get results last term. We do need a more physical presence in midfield & upfront as we rarely win the ball in the air in attacking positions. I think we need two players to complete the jigsaw. Noticed the Rovers team were so much bigger than ours. Feel really sorry for our young players as its the more experienced ones/keeper making the horrible errors. Came away from the ground scratching my head in a daze wondering how we lost that game. We have no luck whatsoever !
A very disillusioned 64 this morning.

paddy parrott wrote:Surely we need an experienced forward to both get the
goals.But knows how to keep the ball and keep pressure off young 'un's.

Antenucci and Sharp are both experienced (albeit Ant. not so much in this league), but I think we need more experience throughout the team.

Austin and/or Tonge on earlier would have been my choice, but to be fair you can't plan for that sort of mix up or the referee failing to see such a ridiculous dive! I understand that his angle wasn't great, but when did you last see such a theatrical dive when there was contact?